By Philip Raphael
Staff writer

As a rapid transit link to Richmond from downtown Vancouver remains mired in controversy over proposed routes, plans for a spur line connecting it to Vancouver International Airport are taking shape.

The Review has learned that Transport Canada and the Vancouver International Airport Authority have joined forces to undertake a feasibility study of the link as a prelude to both agencies possibly supplying partial funding for construction of the project.

Richmond MP Raymond Chan confirmed that the airport authority and federal transport minister David Collenette have bad talks designed to get the study underway. Chan termed the federal government's involvement in such a project as a display of its commitment to improve transportation links between Canada's major International airports and its outlying urban centres.

"I think it is important that B.C. and the Lower Mainland have a rapid transit link with the airport," Chan said. "And I will continue to advocate building a link not just because I am the MP for Richmond, but because it would benefit the entire region."

Prior to the study being released, airport authority officials estimated in its master plan that a link to the main terminal would cost somewhere between $100 million and $150 million, depending on the type of technology chosen. At the low end of the scale would be a light rail system, while a SkyTrain version would likely be the more expensive option.

The line could possibly have as many as three stops on Sea Island. The first connecting with the yet-to-be-built transit exchange bus stop adjacent to the Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel and Marina. Another station would likely be constructed close to the Canadian Airlines International operations centre and a third would end the line at the international terminal building. Cost of the study has not been officially disclosed. The fact a study for the link is underway is cause for optimism that plans for a Richmond-Vancouver link will now advance, said Counc. Kilchi Kumagai who also sits on Translink's board.

"It's very encouraging to see that both the airport authority and federal government are taking these steps," he said. "You combine that with the possibility of a 2010 Winter Olympic bid for Vancouver and Whistler and you can see how the plans may develop. We've been looking at the Federal Government's involvement in this for a while now, and this could be it."

Transport Canada Announced a similar air-rail link study link between Union Station in downtown Toronto and Pearson International Airport earlier this summer. At that time transport minister Collenette stated that, "Rapid transit access to airports is critically important to facilitate travel as well as one of the most logical ways to reduce automobile traffic on the highways."

The study estimated a Pearson-Toronto link would cost $200 million. No federal government funds were committed to building that link, and costs of the study have not been made public.